1954 Retro-Hugo Awards

The 1954 Retrospective Hugo Award winners were announced at the “Time Travel” event on the evening of Friday, September 3, 2004 at Noreascon 4 in Boston, Massachusetts. Bob Eggleton presented the Retro Hugo Awards on the “Past” half of the stage, while Hugo rocket maker and Fan Guest of Honor Peter Weston conducted interviews of the other Guests of Honor — Terry Pratchett, William Tenn (Phil Klass), and Jack Speer — on the “Present” side of the stage. Music was provided by the theremin orchestra “The Lothars”.

The finalists were chosen by popular vote by 131 members of Noreascon 4 and Torcon 3 who submitted valid nomination forms for work done in 1953. A total of 131 nomination forms (35 paper and 96 on-line forms) were received. 843 final voting ballots were received, of which 2 were invalid.

It Came from Outer Space (1953) [Universal] Directed by Jack Arnold; Screenplay by Harry Essex; Story by Ray Bradbury

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) [Mutual Pictures/Warner Brothers] Directed by Eugène Lourié; Screenplay by Fred Freiberger, Eugène Lourié, Louis Morheim and Robert Smith; based on the story by Ray Bradbury

Invaders from Mars (1953) [National Pictures/20th Century Fox] Directed by William Cameron Menzies; Screenplay by Richard Blake; Story by John Tucker Battle

Best Professional Editor

John W. Campbell, Jr.

Frederik Pohl

Donald A. Wollheim

Anthony Boucher

H. L. Gold

Best Professional Artist

Chesley Bonestell

Frank Kelly Freas

Virgil Finlay

Ed Emshwiller

Richard Powers

Best Semi-Prozine

Insufficient Nominations – not on the ballot

Best Fanzine

Slant ed. by Walter Willis and art editor James White

Science Fiction Newsletter ed. by Bob Tucker (aka: Wilson Tucker)

Quandry ed. by Lee Hoffman

Hyphen ed. by Chuck Harris and Walt Willis

Sky Hook ed. by Redd Boggs

Best Fan Writer

Bob Tucker (aka: Wilson Tucker)

Walter A. Willis

James White

Lee Hoffman

Redd Boggs

Best Fan Artist

Insufficient Nominations – not on the ballot

The World Science Fiction Society Constitution allows, but does not require, a Worldcon held an even multiple of 25 years after a year after 1939 at which no Hugo Awards were presented, to present Retrospective Hugo Awards for works that would have been eligible for that year’s Hugo Awards if they had been held. (Once Retro Hugos have been presented for a given year, no future Worldcon may present Retro Hugos for that year.) The first Hugo Awards (the “Science Fiction Achievement Awards”) were presented in 1953 at the Philcon II Worldcon, but they were not presented the following year at SFCon, the 1954 Worldcon. In 2004, Noreascon 4 elected to present Retro Hugo Awards for works first published in 1953 which would have been eligible for the 1954 Hugo Awards, had there been Awards presented in 1954.